schuhmacher



July 21, 1936. 1 F. scHuHMAcHER 2,048,474

` MAT Filed July 1e, 1934 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 2.1, 1936 a Lawrence F. Schuhmacher, lChicago, Ill., assignor to Schuhmacher and Schneider Patents, Inc.,

Chicago, Ill., a' corporation of Illinois Y Application' July 1s, 1934, seriarNo. '135,343 9 claims. (ci. zit-'isi4 The present invention relates lgenerally to mats and is .particularly concerned with certain improvements over themats disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 633,722,

led September 19, 1932.

The principal object of the present invention is to. provide a mat formed of strips of suitable material and disposed in such spacedrelation and arranged'in-such manner'that a sturdy, wear-resisting mat is produced, and one which is not easily distorted in service or otherwise rendered unsightly or unserviceable.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide such a mat and to construct the same of elongated strips procured from any. Suitable source. Specifically, the present invention contemplates using salvaged automobile tires asl a source of such strips, and in this connection' it is a further object of the present invention to so constructthe mat of elongated strips cut from salvaged tires and arrange these strips in such manner that the mat lies iiat, although the strips themselves as they are procured fromsuch source are usually curved in various directions. It is to' formed oi strips of material from such source,

for in carrying out thev principles of the present invention, ,any suitable strips may be utilized. It

is to be noted, however, that used automobile tire casings whichare no longer of service as tires are almost universally available and quite inexpensive to procure.- For these reasons I prefer to use strips of such material and have illustrated the principles of the present invention as embodied in a construction in which strips from automobile tires are employed.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of amat formed of generally elongated straight strips suitably augmented by other strips which are arranged in a zigzag or sinuous manner so as to provide generally diagonal or angled sections which serve to strengthen the mat againstdistortion in the plane of the mat by virtue of the cross-bracing effect and which, in addition, provide an improved tread surface for the mat.

Since automobile tire' casings and othei'similar sources of resilient material from which strips can be cut are circular or toroidal in shape, elongated strips procured irom such source are neither dat nor straight, 4generallyspeaking, but are usu ally curved, either in the direction of their width' or in the direction of .their thickness, or a combination thereof, and 'a still further object of the ner that when all of the strips are broughtgtovcut fromthe tread portionl oi an automobile tire casing are generally somewhat thicker or stiffer than strips cut from the side wall portions, `an additional Vobject of the present invention is to form the edgeor. marginal portions of the mat of elongated strips'cut from the center or tread. portions of .the tire while the central or intermediate portions of the -mat are made principally of elongated strips cut .from the side Iwall-portions oi'- the tire. Ii desired, the intermediate portion of the mat may be strengthened or reinforced by one or more of the thicker or stiffer, tread strips, and itis therefore a further object oi the present invention to arrange the strips in this manner, particularly where the mat is provided with cer-- tain oi the strips arranged in a. zigzag or sinuous manner. In this-connection, it is a still further object of the present invention to vutilize side wall strips for thesesinuous zigzag portions and to cut and perforate these latter strips to the same dimensions that the otherstrips are cut, whereby when the mat is assembled the zigzag or sinuous strips are under' a somewhat greater tension than the other strips, with the result that they. react 35 against'y the adjacent straight strips. Making these adjacent or straight strips of the thicker tread portionsof the tire therefore -materially improves the mat.

Still further, an additional object of the present invention is to form such zigzag or sinuous strips by the proper positioning of suitable spacer means between the strips arranged in such mangether to forin the mat, the zigzag or sinuous strips are automatically brought to the desired- V curvature. f

A furtger object of the present` invention 'is the provi ion cfa mat or similar device formed of narrow elongated .strips of suitable material properly spaced by disks or other suitable means, preferably formed of the same or similar materialias the stripsthemseives, in connection with suitable means threaded'through openings or apertures in the strips and the spacing elements, 55

are-preferably formed of rubber or a rubber containing stock, but it is to be understood that any suitable material may be employed if desired.

automobile tire casings.

According to one commercial form of my.' invention, the material of which the strips 5, 6 and 1 and spacers 9 are formed consists of salvaged A material' of this nature is exceedingly tough, 'yet is flexible and resilient and, being universally available and quite inexpensive, is admirably adapted for the purpose of making mats and such articles. It is to be distinctly understood, however, that the present inventionv is not to be necessarily limited to the use of such material. f

Figure 2 illustrates a portion oi' a tire casing and, in full lines, two strips which have been cut from `different portions thereof.- It was mentioned above that certain of the strips, specifically those cut from the tread-portion of the wire, are curved in the direction of their thickness, while others,`spec ically those cut from the side wall portions of the tire, are curved generally in the direction of their width. -Strips cut from other portions of the tire have various combinations of these curvatures. .l Usually, the strips from the tread portions-of the tire are thicker or stiffer than strips cut from the side wall portinns of the tire, and therefore the Ithicker' or stiffer mat strips 5 (Figure 1') are formed from such tread 4strips where the source of the material is discarded automobile tire'casings, and the thinner i or more exible strips 6 are usually side wall strips, and also the serpentine strips 1 are side wall strips, that is to say, the strips 64 and lare cut from the side wall portions of the tire. This is, of course, not absolutely essential' but is preferred, since the tread strips are somewhat` stiffer or thicker thanthe side wall strips, and hence when these strips are used at the edges of the mat, and occasionally in the intermediate portion'of the mat, the latter is strengthene and reinforced by such placement.

The spacingdisks 9 can be' cut by suitable tools from either the tread portion or the side wall portion of the tire, but in any one mat all of the spacing disks should be cut from thesame portion of the tire in order that the thickness of s the disks shall be uniform.l However, if the tires are well worn, the tread portions and the side wall portions may be of approximately the same thickness, in which case the disks in any one mat ,the 'disks tend to rotate on the rodv members 3 to 4continually present new surfaces to contacted.

Since new ,surfaces` are continually presented, there is-a tendency forv the spacing disks to outlast the strips themselves.- AsV a result of thisarrangement, the spacing ldisks serve to form an anti-skid surface, inI addition to thesurface of the strips themselves, to prevent any one from slipping on the mat.

. iFigure 2 also illustrates howthe strips cut from I a tire are usually curved in some fashion. How-` ever, it is practically essential that the mat i i should lay flat and not curl up at the edges or atJ the corners and, as mentioned above, one feature of the present invention is to construct a mat which lays iiat from strips which are .normally curved, such as strips cut from automobile tire casings or similar material. In order to construct a mat which lays iiat, Ipropose to arrange the inherently curved strips in a certain manner.

thickness, 'and.'in the second place, these strips are usually stifferthan 'sidewall' strips. Also, tread strips can be straightened with less likelihood of buckling or curling. By arranging the stripsin opposed pairs, the curvature of one of the strips is offset by the equal but opposite tendency of the other strip to curve. Another advantage of using the tread strips for the 'edges is that these strips are not so likely to buckle, notonly because of their tendency to curve only in the direction-of their thickness, but also due 25 to-the fact'that the side wall strips are somewhat 'thinner or more flexible and, also, the side wall strips tend to curve in a general direction of their width. In both cases, however, the strips are assembled on the mat with the curves thereof in opposite relation, this being illustrated in Fig` urea-1 and 5. t

Figure 5 illustrates the application of the two outer marginal strips 5,-it being noted that the full line lpositionV of the first strip indicates its position in the mat and thel dotted line vposition occupies, by the inherent curvature `of the strip, before it was .assembledz on. the spacing rods I. The other strip, however, is shown in its normal curled `position in fulliines, indicating the posi- X tion the strip' takes just 'before it has been stretched to its dotted line position and threaded V`of this strip being the position which the stripv over the rods '3. Figure 4 illustrates the samel relations` for the intermediate strips 6, that is, one strip is shown in full lines in assembled position, and the dotted line position of this strip showing the curvature which it would normally' -take and which it did take before assembly on the rods 3. The other strip 6 is shown in its normal position in full lines before assembly,

while the dotted line positionof this strip shows the same after it is threaded onto the rods 3. It is, ofcourse, not absolutely necessary that each and all ofthe strips be assembled in pairs which lie directly alongside each other. looking at Figure l, the two marginal strips 5' at the upper portionof the figure may be assembled though separated by one of the strips 5. are as- For example,

with their curvatures opposite. while` the two serpentine' strips 1 at this side of the mat, al- 60 sembled with their curvatures opposite, referring to the inherent tendency of the strip to curve in opposite directions from thefplane of the mat `and not to the curvature of these strips whichis imv parted thereto by arranging the spacers 8 lfirst `on one side and then on the other'ofv these strips.

WhileAI have shown and described above the preferred construction inl order to illustrate the principles of my invention, it is to be understood that the use' of widely different constructions may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of my invention. For example, itis not necessary that serpentine strips be employed, or if serpentine or similar strips Aare employed it is not essential that they be separated by e straight strip as shown in the drawings. ,Likewise it is not necessary to .arrange the serpentine strips l material which is eminently satisfactory to use for mats and the like. Similarly, I do not intend to be restricted 4to the size or proportions of the mat illustrated in Figurel, mince mats in greater length or width or lesser length and width or oi varying proportions may be constructed according to the principles of my invention. For example,- mats may be arranged for use as stair treads, doorstops, car ioors, running boards of,

automobiles, and many other uses.

Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A mat comprising a plurality of separate strips of resilient material having a-tendency to curve in one-direction,l and means securing said strips together in spaced relation in pairs so posi-'- tioned that the tendency o i' one strip to curve inv one direction is opposed by the tendency ofthe adjacent strip to curve in the other direction.

2.l A mat comprising a plurality of separate strips of resilient material cut from the tread and side wall portions of salvaged tire castings, the

tread strips tending to curve in the direction oi vtheir thickness and the side wall strips tending to curve in the direction oi' their width in accordance with the shape oi' the'tire. from which they are cut, spacing means maintaining said strips on edge and spaced laterally in the mat, the sides of the mat being formed of tread strips assembled in pairs with their inherent tendency 'to curve opposed, and the intermediate portion of the mat being formed of side wall strips also assembled in'pairs with their inherent tendency to curve' opposed, and means extending from one side of the mat to the other for holding all of said strips and said spacing means in position.

3. In a mat formed 'of separate curved strips of appreciable rigidity,` the method of assembling said strips so that the mat will lie hat, which v comprisesseparately'arranging said strips edge'- wise in pairs with one strip oi each pmr placed with its curvature opposite that ofthe other strip, and then securing said strips together.

" 4.- In a mat formed oi narrow eloted strips some oi.' which are curved laterally in the direc- 'tion of their' thickness and others oi' which are curved edgewis in the direction o! their width. the method oi assembling said strips sc that the mat lie ilat, which comprises arranging said 'laterally curvedstrips in pairs at the sidesof the matvwith their curve-tures opposed, arranging said edgewise curved strips in pairs to form the central strips ,of the mat and also with their curvatures opposed, straightening said strips and securing the strips together laterally.

5. A mat. comprising a plurality of narrow s elongated strips, transverse connecting members passing through openings in and connecting said strips-together, and means to s thelstrlps apart, said spacing. means comprising disks mounted to rotate on said transverse members and having a diameter equal to the-.width of said strips, whereby 'as the strips wear in service said Ynew surfaces to be'contacted.

. spacing disks are rotated to continually present 6. A mat comprising a plurality of strips of rel silientfmaterial cut from the tread and side wall ing tocurve in the direction of their thicmess and. the side wall strips tending to curve in the I direction of their width in accordance withthe shape of the tire from which they are cut, specing means maintaining said strips on edge and spaced laterally in the mat, the sides ofthe mat vbeing formed of tread strips msembled in pairs with their inherent tendency to curve opposed and the intermediate portion of the mat being formed of side wall strips also assembled in pairs with their inherent tendency te curve opposed,

sinuously arranged sidewall strips ldisposed between certainof the 'tread wall. strips, "the sinuosity of said strips'serving to-place the same under greater tension than and to cause' themto react against the tread strips, and means extending from one side of the mat tothe otherfor .1.0 portions of salvaged tires, the tread strips tend-4 4 holding all of-said strips andsaid spacing means. 30

7. A mat comprisingv a plurality of separate strips ofv a materialconsisting of vulcanized rubbei-'and reenforcing layers of ibrous strands. ernbedded therein, .each strip having an inherent and appreciable tendency. to curve in one direction due to the. strength oifthe strip .fand the degree of rigidity. impartedthereto bysaid reeniorcing `layers, and means securing saidf'strlps together in edgewise spaced apartirelation, the strips of eachV pair. being so positioned that the internal stresses f in the rubber and eiribedded lbrous reen'forcing layers of one strip when straightened are substantially equal but opposite in direction to like stresses of the other strip when the latter is straightened and brought alongside said one strip. 8; A mat comprising a plurality of separatev .strips of'resilient material cut from the tread and side wall portions of salvaged tire' casings, each of the strips having appreciable edgewiseand lateral rigidity by virtue of the included layers of reenforcing fabric-like tire carcass, the 'strips therefor possessing substantial strength both edgewise and laterally and each strip `having an inherent tendency to curve -in a 'certain direction,

and means securing said separate strips'together in opposed pairs so that the strips are arranged with the .carcass layers edgewise and the resulting tendency of 'one strip to curve in one direction 4oiset by the equal tendency of the other carcassembedded strip to curve in the vopposite direction. 9.A A mat comprising a plurality of strips cut from an automobile tire casing, each of said strips having air-inherent tendency to. curve in a certain direction, and means securing said strips together, saidstrips' being so relatively disposed that the inherent tendency of certain of the Astrips to curve i inf one ectiori is opposed by theinherent tendency ci' certain other o! -the strips to curve in theopposite direction to such an extent that Vthe mat as a wholeis free-from curving and buckling andwill lie nat. f

' n scaomcnm.

July 21, 1936.

w. J. sLAGLE 2,048,475

FRICTIQN PADDING lMATERIAL Filed 001'.. 10. 1930 l l f 1 f l nfl/mm1 fora/azz Slgle r Um. MURA-" 

